All Chapters of Beyond the Boundaries : Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

Eirween. The stars had shifted. It was a subtle, quiet way that only someone like me would notice. A single thread out of place in the vast tapestry of the world. A tremble in the earth that wasn’t from storm or quake but emotion raw, untamed, and pulsing from the North. I closed the tome I’d been reading, the pages old and soft with wear, the ink faded but still legible under starlight. The runes along the cover shimmered faintly before dimming, content to rest. I placed the book back on the shelf carved directly into the tree’s inner wall. There was no urgency in my movement, only knowing. The kind that settles into your bones, ancient and absolute. I stepped out from my dwelling, the threshold vanishing behind me as bark and branch grew together once more. The forest always kept my secrets. My feet met the ground softly, and the moss rose to greet me. The path did not exist until I walked it, unfolding beneath each step like a ribbon spun from memory. Ferns parted, vines li